Woman of the Week: NOT Emma Paveley

No pictures today I'm afraid. And no name.

This week's Woman of the Week is the lady I saw last week as she enjoyed some lunchtime sunshine with friends/colleagues on the green near where I'm working now.

I saw her twice. Once, very briefly, last Tuesday, and then again a week ago today.

TUESDAY, 3rd JULY

We've had a so-called "heatwave" in the UK (I'm sure we just used to refer to weather like this as "summer"!) recently. Sunshine every day, temperatures in the mid to high 20s where I am. It's been great, and when out and about, I've been as alert as always to any female muscle among the (mainly flabby) flesh on display in the heat.

Largely, I've been disappointed. The city where I'm currently based is not a large one, hardly a hotspot for female muscle, but I had some luck in the spring with sighting muscular women so I was hopeful. But apart from a few women with "toned" arms, and/or flat tummy, my female muscle radar has been pretty much dormant.

That changed last Tuesday. As I walked back to the office from a working lunch with a colleague, the radar went crazy. Ahead, to my left, was a woman in a workout vest with shoulders. Big, muscular shoulders. She was sitting on the grass, leaning back, and supporting herself on her arms, making those shoulders pop. I felt my heart rate rise, felt the adrenaline rush. I fought the urge to stare, tried to maintain the conversation I was having... But those shoulders were proper balls of muscle.

I was side on to her now as we passed, and could see a proper tricep too, bulging outwards from under her shoulder then curving back in towards her elbow. No more than a glimpse but more than enough to make me have to suppress a gasp.

My colleague has a bit of a power walk on her, and I cursed her for it. We'd gone past her too quickly, to see any more now I would have to stop and turn around. My heart still beating fast, I tried and failed to think of a reason to do just that. It was over.

WEDNESDAY, 4th JULY

Over the following 24 hours, I somehow managed to convince myself that the woman I had seen was none other than Britain's Fitness Olympian Emma Paveley.


IFBB Fitness Pro Emma Paveley - NOT the woman I saw

It seemed perfectly reasonable at the time.

For one thing, Emma is based not a million miles away from where my sighting had happened and the woman I had seen was, I surmised, more or less the right height. She was the right colouring - blond, pale - and had the right hairstyle. The muscles, I guessed, were about right too. Shockingly developed next to the "normals" she was with that day, they were still nothing like a full-on Female Bodybuilder's.

Piece by piece my Madness-stricken mind assembled the glimpses I had had of the woman on the grass, and when they were all put together they added up to Emma.

I was back at that green the following lunchtime. Waiting and watching I ran through what I would say to her - "good luck in Vancouver" and so on. Would she think it weird or would she be flattered that I knew who she was and when and where she would be competing next? My tone, I decided, would be key - that and not gushing out everything little thing I knew about her all at once. So I rehearsed as I sat watching and waiting for her. I ran through my lines over and over again.

THURSDAY, 5th JULY

She was there when I arrived at the green with my lunch. And I realised very quickly that though she did bear a passing resemblance to Emma, it was not in fact her. This was, I'll admit, somewhat disappointing, but I was glad to see she (whoever she is) was once again in a workout vest. And there was a vacant bench close-but-not-too-close to her with a great view of her arms, her shoulders, and even a little back.

I settled down and drank her in.

When she spoke even the smallest gesticulation made her muscles ripple a little, and with no one in earshot, I was able to let out little moans and gasps as she did so. It didn't take long for my loins to start acknowledging her - I did get rather hard at one point and had to cross my legs - but I felt more like an art lover in a gallery gazing at a particularly beautiful work than a man on a perving mission in a public place!

A good 45 minutes I spent like that, melting into a full-on swoon at one point when she leaned back on her arms (as I had seen her first), triceps and shoulders bulging, and stretched. As she did so her quads visibly flared in her tight leggings. I felt my eyes widening, my loins tingling, and bit my bottom lip hard enough to draw blood.

I desperately wanted to see her stand up so I could get a better look at those legs, desperately wanted to watch her walk so I could see if her glutes were as tight as I imagined. She remained on the grass, however, and I really had to get back to work.

It wasn't difficult - and nor, at the time, did it seem in any way wrong - to take a few long range pictures of her, and I later spent some of the afternoon at my desk cropping them to focus on her, delighted her impressive definition came out.

That evening I spent some quality time with those pictures, then deleted them all - partly because of the surge of guilt I felt immediately after I had paid my secret tribute to her, partly because I knew deep down I would never have been able to keep them to myself and by sharing them open myself up to all sorts of embarrassing (and possibly legal) situations, and partly because I wanted to spare her the shock of one day coming across a bunch of photos of herself she never knew existed.

She may well be aware the muscles she has built give her more than just physical power. She certainly wasn't shy about showing off her arms and shoulders, quite rightly - I hope and expect she is very proud of the physique she has. She'll never know what she did to me, though. Never know the power she had over me for those few days last week, and clearly continues to have over me as I sit here writing now.

She's my woman of the week without question - whoever she is.

Emma, by the way, finished 3rd in Vancouver, so she didn't manage to defend her title. She was nevertheless "feeling really proud at being soooo much better than ever before" at the show. If I see her, I'll tell her I thought she's never looked better either, though the chances of that are slim. Yes, she's based not a million miles from where I'm currently working, but the only public place Emma ever seems to be is in the gym.

Thunder! jennifersueee

The tiger and lion may be more powerful, but the wolf doesn't perform in the circus.



It's the quote that jennifersueee has pasted across the top of her thightastic Instagram, so I guess we can conclude this lady values her freedom above all.



And if you suspect this rather leftfield opening means FMS hasn't managed to find out much else about this powerful and free-spirited young lady, then you'd be right!



Guess - on a certain level - she values her privacy too.



She is contactable though, although you had better have your wallet handy when you do. For $6.99/month her connectpal will give you access to "sexy exclusive 18+ photos/videos that do not appear on any other social media site, new content uploaded everyday!" You will be able to directly message her - she promises "daily interaction" - and the warning that you MUST (her capitals) be 18 or over to subscribe is probably all the info you need to know to know what you're going to get.



And no, I haven't. Not yet anyway.



If you do, would you mind asking her a few questions for me?

On Fandom: Chapter 7

A guy starts a blog...






The first four pics on FMS, 1st May 2011

He has a vague notion that he should be putting these thoughts online, thoughts that he's rarely, if ever, articulated, thoughts about the women he has adored for so much of his life. He wants to champion these women, sure, but most of all he wants to find others who have lived the same experiences, to know that he is not alone...


At the time of writing, my latest "discovery", Alicia Bell

Times have changed, and continue to change. Female Muscle Fandom was a very different situation when I first saw a female bodybuilder, and it even feels as though it was a very different place when I started FMS in 2011. There are now, without question, more women in the world building muscle than ever, and thanks to social media, they have more admirers, both male and female, than ever before.



Transforming bodies, transforming lives

More and more women compete as well. Many of them are not what you or I might call "Female Bodybuilders" capital F capital B, but that's what the mainstream calls them, and in case you haven't been reading FMS, the mainstream are more and more interested in these Bikini and Figure girls and their pro-lifting, pro-muscle message. If you go to a gym the chances are there are women lifting there, and though it's not always easy to see beyond the gym and internet when you are as obsessed as I am with female muscle, it's not just there that female muscle is going mainstream.


Jody Poulter transforms on prime time TV

Turn on Modern Family and check out Julie Bowen's arms and shoulders. If you're in the UK, check out the first episode of This Time Next Year on catch-up. Presented by Davina McCall, who, as you may know, has her own fitness range, she and the audience celebrate the achievement of a woman who vows to become a competitive bodybuilder small b in a year, and comes out oiled, ripped and flexing in her posing suit. Laura Madge on Ninja Warrior - two seasons in a row... I could go on.



The highest level

And even Female Bodybuilding capital F capital B, which seemed to be in danger of disappearing altogether at the highest level, has enjoyed a mini-resurgence under the guidance of Wings of Strength and with fan-generated funding, and this looks set to continue for the foreseeable future at least. This most extreme - and for many fans most exciting - form of the "sport" may never be mainstream, but it has survived.


And there's Moore: Chareece Johnson (aka Chareece Moore), new IFBB pro

Is there a point to all this blabbing on this week? Well, I did say at the outset I wouldn't have too many answers! But I guess, if I have to make a point, it would be that as the perception of women with muscle shifts, the perception of the men who, as Tanya Bunsell puts it, "celebrate these women in all their complex beauty", will change as well. Perhaps in the not too distant future the idea that "you think of a guy who is very socially awkward, he's a weirdo, he's a pervert, he obviously has some mental issue because he's attracted to extremely muscular women" will become as outdated as the idea that women who lift heavy weights will end up looking like men.


"Complex beauty": Kelsey Nicole

Your thoughts on this, or any of the other issues raised this week, are most welcome, as are any comments or suggestions you have for the blog in general. As the world of female muscle grows, more than ever I need your help in keeping up with it, so please, do get in touch if you feel I'm missing someone or something relevant.

Thanks for reading.

6ft1swell@gmail.com

"I'm in Love" (Part One)

Not, as you might expect, my own (latest) declaration of love for Shannon, Asha, Erica, Dani, Nicky, Melissa (Wee or Lesage) or any of the myriad examples of magnificent muscular womanhood featured on FMS, but rather a look at a selection of images from Girls with Muscle that have recently moved other female muscle heads to type (no doubt with just the one hand) the exact words "I'm in Love".



Images like this one of Swedish Bodyfitness beauty Ida Bergfoth - aka "oidao" on Instagram - flexing her unexpectedly (even suspiciously?) enormous arm.



And this one of Physique champ Susan Smith which, as well as attracting declarations (plural) of love, has also attracted offers (yes, plural) of marriage, and even a lengthy quotation of a Commodores lyric!



A very different, but, it seems, equally enamouring shade of muscular beauty is provided here by Russian make-up artist and Crossfitter Harvi Monroe - aka Harvi Don't Stop on vk. Near the top of my lust list, says one fan with "a bit of a thing for Goth girls". I'm sure Harvi is very proud to have made that list...



Fitness instructor, model, personal training business owner and soon-to-be Figure competitor Sarah Varno is one of the few women brave enough to actually venture to make a comment about the comments about her on GWM. But once she'd complained that she gets "better feedback on Instagram" an avalanche of compliments about her triceps, choice of outfit, and all-round loveliness appeared under this pic.



Britain's most shredded and FMS fave Corinne Ingman made a few muscle-in-the-kitchen fantasies come to life with this ravishing image of her hot and hard back. Corinne's plans for 2016 apparently include "lots and lots of squatting". Nice.



Don't have much info about Korean stunner Lee Ye-rin, but I do know she's (unsurprisingly) got a lot of love on GWM and elsewhere on the forums. And I also found (and loved) this sweet clip of her from Muscle & Fitness Korea.



Familiar? She should be. This very pic of WBFF Fitness stunner Melissa Le Man featured here on FMS during our week of female muscle and cars. Is this how images achieve "iconic" status - getting posted again and again by lazy bloggers?!



Now here's someone new. "Kathleen", as she is identified, appears to have all the female muscle next door credentials, and proves - as if proof were necessary - that you don't need to be famous to get big love from the female muscle brethren.



Being big helps though. Size, it appears, really does matter! This is Swedish Amazon Emelie Fredriksson and yes, that shaker is a normal size - it just looks tiny because she's holding it. You can see more apparent optical illusions on Emelie's Instagram.



And we finish our first installment of our GWM Love survey with the magnificently massive Jessica Sestrem, and the divine definition of Diana Schnaidt.

We shall be swooning some more later in the week.

Her Back: A Fantasy

Slowly but surely you've made your back into a thing of beauty. Once it was like all the others. One-dimensional, flat, featureless. Now there are curves, there is shape, there is detail. There is MUSCLE. It seems that every week there is a new feature for me to explore. Flex it for me. Make a muscle and bring your back to life.




Years ago, back when I was first enthralled by female bodybuilders, I used to stare for hours at the WPW "back page". Zuzanna, Denise, Lesa, Paula... I'd stare and trace the curves and lines of their intoxicating backs with my fingers, trying to imagine how the muscle would really feel. Now, as you sleep, it is your back and your muscle I lie awake and stare at. I gently trace the curves and lines of your beautiful muscles across and down and up your back. I don't have to imagine anymore, and the funny thing is it feels even better than I ever thought it would.



I've given some half-arsed back rubs in my time. I'd have barely started and I'd already be thinking how long I'd have to go before I could finish. With you, with your back, I can't wait to start, and I never want it to end. Those other backs I rubbed were all the same - soft, featureless. Yours has shape. Yours has definition and detail, mounts of muscle and valleys between. I want to explore it all. I get deep into every fibre of every one of your hard muscles. Time stops. I could do this forever.



I learn the names of every muscle. Trapezius, rhomboids, etc. I whisper sweet nothings like "I love your teres major" and "Your spinal erectors make me hard" whenever and wherever. At first it just made you giggle, but now you proudly flex whatever muscle I've mentioned, or, when you are covered up in public, you whisper back that you are, and tell me how good, how sexy it feels to do so.



You're getting so damn wide at the top you've had to throw out half your wardrobe, and at this rate the other half will be getting replaced before long as well. Sometimes I walk behind you just to admire your shape. You taper so beautifully, the width at the top making your waist look tiny in comparison. At the gym I can't wait to get you home and run my hands down your sides as you flare your lats.



You're standing in front of the mirror. "Squeeze them," you say as you spread your beautiful wings. "Squeeze them hard." I obey, and the size and the power of the muscles make me giddy. You moan as I tighten my fingers around them. I feel you flex again, resisting my grip, inviting me to press ever harder against the muscle.




And you keep on growing. And the bigger you get, the vainer you get and you spend more and more time in front of the mirror, more and more time admiring yourself. But it's not easy to see your own back, is it? You've got quite proficient at the over the shoulder selfie, but you're frustrated you can never see your back fully flexed. I'm only too happy to help. It's important to have a regular back check, and it's important to check that back in lots of different poses and from lots of different angles.



Your top was so tight in the gym today I thought - I wished - your back was going to explode right through it. My alpha female, my muscle goddess, your power was visible to all and didn't you know it, strutting around like the Queen you are. Let them stare in shock and awe. Let them see the power of your rippling muscles beneath the straining fabric of your top. Let them feel the power of your presence.




The only dresses you'll wear now are backless, and when we're out I watch other women watching you. They watch you in admiration, they watch you in envy, and they watch their own men as their own men watch you. On our winter break you stood in your bikini and flexed by the pool on the first day and no one else in the hotel looked at you again for the whole two weeks without gasping a little. I sat behind you in the canoe and you turned around and smiled at me and then peeled off your top and suddenly I was living a fantasy I never even knew I had.




You're so confident now, so comfortable in your body, so big and powerful. They want you to compete and you think you feel like you're ready. I dream all day of what it's going to feel like to be in the audience and see you up there. You dream all day of what it's going to feel like up there, the rush you'll get from being in such peak condition, all eyes upon you even as you turn away from the audience, flex with all the power you have and let them see that beautiful back of yours in all its glory.



Your curiosity gets the better of you, it's time to push your body to its limit. You tell me what I've dreamed of hearing for so so long. "Better strap yourself in," you tell me as your contest prep begins. "By all accounts this is going to be a wild, wild ride."




It's a ride I never want to get off.

Enjoy!